Lisa Jasa - Former CropWatch Editor

Biological Systems Engineering Assistant Professor Santosh Pitla (left) talks with BSE Graduate Student John Evans about the class they're teaching where students explore access and analysis of operational data from tractors.
Figure 1. Biological Systems Engineering Assistant Professor Santosh Pitla (left) talks with BSE Graduate Student John Evans about the class they're teaching. Students learn how to access and analyze tractor data.

Agricultural Machinery Data Acquisition and Analytics Research Could Lead to Increased Fuel and Field Efficiencies

October 28, 2016
How much power are your farm implements using and how can you make them more efficient? These are among the questions being addressed by Santosh Piitla, an assistant professor of advanced machinery systems in the University of Nebraska Department of Biological Systems Engineering. Pitla is developing software to analyze key data from a tractor's multiple computers. Eventually the data will lead to "real-time," in-the-cab feedback to help operators manage field equipment more efficiently.

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Page spread for UNL Ag Water Management Guide
Page spread for UNL Ag Water Management Guide

New, Multi-Media Ag Water Management Guide

June 15, 2016
Nebraska Extension's new Agricultural Water Management Guide, an online, interactive resource, offers information, videos, and illustrations about various types of irrigation, their advantages and disadvantages, technologies and strategies.

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Laura Thompson
Laura Thompson

Thompson Pursues the Puzzles of On-Farm Research

May 12, 2016
Get to know Laura Thompson, a cropping systems and ag technologies extension educator in the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension District. She and extension educator Keith Glewen co-coordinate the Nebraska On-Farm Research Network (NOFRN). “I enjoy being able to work directly with farmers on issues that are important to their farming operation in terms of profitability and long-term viability, helping them gather data to critically evaluate products or practices and produce their own relevant, science-based information.”

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Bowl of white noodles
Advancements in a new line of hard white wheat make it possible to develop white whole grain products that are more popular in the marketplace. The USDA research effort was led by Robert Graybosch, plant geneticist and research leader of the ARS Grain, Forage, and Bioenergy Research Unit in Lincoln.

ARS Lincoln Research Leads to Whiter Wheat

April 20, 2016

Getting rid of gray discoloring in foods such as fresh noodles, breads, and refrigerated biscuits is now possible, thanks to a new white hard wheat breeding line developed by USDA scientists in Lincoln.

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UNL Releases New Web Tool for Soybean Pest Management

April 14, 2016
What should I be scouting for in my soybeans today? In two weeks? What cultural practices might affect disease development? SoyCal, a new online tool from UNL, offers timely pest management information, recommended tasks, and UNL research results to help you tackle Nebraska’s primary soybean pests. Developed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln doctoral student Josh Miller with financial support from the Nebraska Soybean Board, the Soybean Management Calendar is now available at CropWatch.unl.edu/SoyCal.

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Chris Proctor New UNL Weed Science Educator

April 7, 2016

The challenges of studying integrated crop production systems sparked an interest in Chris Proctor that led him to expand his career focus in weed science from turf to global agriculture and food production.

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Downed corn leading to harvest complications in 2012

Assessing and Harvesting Downed Corn

October 26, 2012

Also see Robert Klein's photo essay on an operation's effort to harvest downed corn and a related segment on YouTube from the November 2 Market Journal story with Rick Rasby.

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Steps to Avoid Grain Bin Entrapment

October 3, 2014

How to install and use a lifeline rope system when entering a grain bin. (Source: Grain Handling Safety Coalition)

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